Feeding apparatus for books or the like



Feb. 28, 1967 A H ASH ETAL FEEDING APPARATUS FOR BOOKS OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 9, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 mum INVENTORS ALBERT H. ASH,

BY CHARLES W. HUNTING 8 ORVILLE MORLEY AT TOR N EYS Fgb. 28, 1967 A. H. ASH ETAL 3,306,490

FEEDING APPARATUS FOR BOOKS 013 THE LIKE Filed Dec. 9, 1964 86 FIG-3 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ill FIG 04 7 a /49 I O, vI46 I36 In I if 0 /44 14a a I J V I40 39 b a e I55 i" 1l lzl o INVENTORS ALBERT H. ASH, BY CHARLES W. BUNTING 8 ORVILLE MORLEY ATTORNEYS Feb. 28, 1967 A. H. ASH ETAL 3,306,490

FEEDING APPARATUS FOR BOOKS OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 9, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet E INVENTORS ALBERT H. ASH,

BY CHARLES W. BUNTING a ORVILLE MORLEY United States Patent Office 3,306,490 Patented Feb. 28, 1967 3,306,490 FEEDING APPARATUS FOR BOOKS OR THE LIKE Albert H. Ash, Springfield, and Charles W. Bunting and Orville Morley, Dayton, Ohio, assignors to McCall Corporation. Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 9, 1364, Ser. No. 417,125 7 Claims. (Cl. 221-40) This invention relates to a machine for wrapping or labeling materials such as books, magazines, or the like, and more particularly, to an apparatus for rapidly feeding the machine.

A typical application of the present invention, according to a preferred embodiment, is in connection with the individual wrapping of books, magazines, or the like, which are continually fed in piles from a trimming station where a number of the books have been arranged in piles for trimming to proper size. For an efiicient and economical trimming operation, it is desirable to have the books arranged in piles so that a single stroke of the knife can be effective to trim a number of books at one time to desired dimensions. The successive piles of books leaving the trimmer are then transported, usually by a conveyor belt, to a machine which wraps the books individually. In feeding the wrapping machine, it is necessary that the books be transferred from the piles and placed separately on the feed. convey-or of the machine.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a novel feeding apparatus which will transfer the successive piles of books to a hopper and then release single books from the bottom of the hopper to a high-speed continuous conveyor.

Thus, as a primary object, the present invention provides a novel apparatus, adaptable for use on a wrapping or labeling machine, which will receive a flow of successive piles of materials, such as books or the like, and rapidly transfer the piles to a hopper where single pieces of material are continuously fed onto a high-speed conveyor for individual handling of the material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for transferring successive piles of material to a hopper where said mechanism is simple in construction and operation, and is quickly responsive to demands for material when signaled by a level indicator on the hopper.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for transferring successive piles of material to a hopper by a rotary member which advances forward a predetermined number of degrees for each pile and thereby eliminates the time required for return motion.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for transferring piles of material and feeding single pieces of material, which includes an interlocking system to prevent jamming and overfeeding of the apparatus.

As a further object, the present invention provides a high-speed wrapping or labeling machine with an apparatus which will receive a flow of piles of material from one direction and feed single pieces of material in the opposite direction without changing the orientation of the material.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

In the drawings- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the feeding apparatus according to the present invention and its relationship, shown schematically, with a high-speed wrapping machine;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the feeding apparatus,

according to the present invention, showing the overall flow of the material handled;

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view of the feeding apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, :as viewed along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the advancing mechanism for operating the rotary wheel member of the feeding apparatus in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a section-a1 view of the feeding apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, to show primarily the hopper, a signaling mechanism and conveyor pickup, as viewed along the line 55 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a combined schematic wiring and pneumatic diagram illustrating the preferred control system for the apparatus in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows the overall arrangement of the feeding apparatus and a somewhat schematic fiow path of the material which is handled. For purposes of illustration and explanation, reference is made to a feeding apparatus for machinery which wraps individual books. However, it is to be understood that the feeding apparatus, according to the invention, is not necessarily limited to use on wrapping machinery but may have other uses, for example, on labeling or printing machinery.

Thus, in FIG. 1, an endless belt conveyor 12, which passes around the roller 13, is employed to transport the books 14 stacked in piles 15 from a trimming operation where the books are trimmed. to size subsequent to arranging in piles after the binding operation. The conveyor is preferably operated continuously by a suitable drive (not shown), but may be operated intermittently, if desired. When the conveyor operates continuously, the successive piles are fed along a line, as shown by the arrow, and are constantly urged into the feeding apparatus by the controlled speed of the conveyor 12. At the end of the conveyor 12, and level with the top side of the conveyor, is a receiving plate 17 which maintains the piles at the entrance of the feeding apparatus at a level the same as the piles on the conveyor. Extending upwardly from the receiving plate 17 are guide walls 18 which hold the longitudinal edges of the books in vertical aligned piles,

Performing as a barrier to the flow path of the successively arranged piles of books is a vertically mounted st-op plate 20 which momentarily stops each pile on the receiving plate 17 Rotatably mounted above the piles 15 is a wheel memberhaving six finger-like portions 26, and which advances in a clockwise direction, as shown by the arrow. Projecting downwardly from the end of each finger-like portion 26 of the wheel member 25 is a pin 28 which shoves a pile 15 resting on the receiving plate 17 in a direction transverse to the supply line of piles and towards the top opening of a vertically arranged hopper 30 which has side walls 31, 32 and 33 extending upward to a level common with the top of the guide walls 18, and a fourth wall 34 which joints the receiving plate 17.

Spaced around the wheel member 25 is mounted a cylindrically extending safety guard 35 which joins on one end to the guide wall 18 and on the other end to the side wall 31 of the hopper 30. The stop plate 20 serves in conjunction with the guide wall extensions 36 and the hopper walls 31, 32 and 33 to maintain the pile 15 in an endwise vertical alignment while a pin 28 shoves the pile to the open top of the hopper 30 into which the piles drop one on top of the other as shown in FIG. 1.

Preferably, the pins 28 are rotatably mounted to the- I the top book of the stack within the hopper.

Mounted below the wheel member is a housing 38 which contains the mechanism for indexing the wheel member 25 which is driven through the spindle 39.

Spaced slightly under the bottom plate 40 of the hopper is a chain type feed conveyor 41 which is illustrated somewhat schematically in FIGS. 1 and 2. On one end the conveyor receives sheets 42 of wrapping paper which are cut to size by the blade 44 of a rotary sheeter 46 which receives a web 48 of wrapping paper from a roll (not shown).

The lugs 52 form part of the conveyor 41 and serve to pick up each sheet of wrapping paper leaving the trimmer and transfer the paper along the top side of the conveyor so that a portion of the sheet passes under the hopper 30. The lugs 52 project upwardly to a point that they not only carry the sheet of wrapping paper 42 but will engage one edge of the bottom book in the stack supported by the bottom plate nit) of the hopper 30 so that the books are fed forward in the direction as shown by the arrow. The bottom plate of the hopper is provided with slots 53 (FIG. 5) which allow the lugs to pick up the edge of the bottom book and carry it out the opening 54 within the hopper wall 32.

The guide bars 56 are so positioned to maintain the aligned relationship of each book lying on the sheet 42 of wrapping paper. As the sheet 42 and the book 14 are moved forward by the feed conveyor 40, the rods 58 pick up the portion 60 of the sheet and fold this portion over on top of the book. Sequentially, the band 64 engages the tab portion 65, which extends as the opposite end of the sheet, and folds the tab also over on top of the book, and under portion 60.

As schematically shown in FIG. 1, when the portion 60 of the wrapping sheet is folded over on top of the book, it forms a tab 67 which extends outwardly in order to engage the rotary glue applicator 69 mounted on the glue box 70. The tab 67 is then folded downwardly around the edge of the book so that the portion which has glue applied to it, by the applicator 69, is sealed against the wrapping sheet on the underneath side of the book by suitable rollers (not shown). The result is a book which is wrapped completely around both sides and two edges as shown by the wrapped book 72 of FIG. 1. The abovedescribed wrapping method is employed as it is desirable that the wrapping sheet surrounds the book, and seals upon itself, as shown, rather than seal upon the book. In the latter case, it is possible that the cover of the book may be torn when removing the wrapper.

Referring to FIG. 2, which is a top view of the feeding apparatus, the six pins 28, which extend downward from the wheel member 25, are spaced equally from each other and are arranged on a diameter so that when the wheel member is at rest, one pin will be positioned adjacent one pile resting on the receiving plate against the stop plate 20, while the next pin clockwise on the wheel member will be adjacent another pile of books which has been transferred to the hopper. The pins are so located that they shove the piles along the mid-portion of the piles in order to prevent binding of the books against either the guide wall 36 or stop plate 20.

As single books are fed from the bottom of the hopper and the stack of books within the hopper descends, the top book on the stack will reach a level where a light beam projecting from the lamp 76, FIG. 5, will no longer be blocked by the stack of books and will be received or detected by the photoelectric cell 78 which signals the indexing mechanism to advance the wheel member. In so advancing, the wheel member transfers another pile of books to the hopper where the pile will drop slightly onto In View of the fact that the stack of books within the hopper will descend more rapidly as the speed of the conveyor 41 is increased, it is important, for high-speed performance,

that the transferring mechanism be instantaneously responsive to the signal, in order to immediately transfer another pile of books to the hopper. Otherwise, the transferring mechanism cannot keep up with the conveyor and the piles of books will begin to drop further down into the hopper to such an extent that twisting and jamming of the books can occur, thus requiring that the speed of the conveyor be reduced.

The rotary transferring mechanism herein described has been constructed to be highly responsive and, of course, does not require additional time for reversing as is required by an oscillating type transferring mechanism. As a result, the feeding apparatus of the invention has substantially reduced the time for transferring the piles which, in turn, permits a significant increase in the conveyor speed.

Referring to FIG. 2, the normally open sensing switch 8b is electrically in series with the photoelectric cell 78 so that the electrical signal which controls the indexing mechanism can only be received when a pile of books is resting against the stop plate 20 and depressing the switch actuator 82, even though the hopper may be empty. This prevents the Wheel member 25 from shoving a pile before the pile comes to rest against the stop plate 20, which would cause the pile to cock and jam the apparatus.

An opening 84 is provided in the upper portion of the hopper wall 32 in order for the pins 28 to pass through the wall as the wheel member 25 is indexed. The tab 85 is bent outwardly to prevent the leading edge of the books from catching the edge of the opening.

It is apparent from the drawings that the feeding mechanism which is shown was constructed specifically to handle books of known dimensions. It is to be understood, however, that the mechanism could be constructed having some flexibility in order to accommodate books, magazines or the like, which have larger or smaller dimensions. This can be accomplished, for example, by constructing the guide walls 18 and 36 and the hopper walls 31 and 33 so that they would be horizontally adjustable. Furthermore, the number of pins 28 is not necessarily limited to six pins spaced sixty degrees apart. In fact, any number of pins could be mounted on the wheel 25, providing the distance between two consecutive pins was greater than the width of the books. Also, the pins 28 can be mounted for adjustment on the wheel 25, for example, by mounting the pins in radial slots on the wheel.

Referring to FIG. 3, the pins 28 are mounted on the wheel member 25 by a shaft (not shown) which extends through a central hole in the pin and is fastened to the wheel member by a nut 86. Preferably, each pin is mounted for free rotation on its shaft. The wheel member 25 is secured for rotation with the spindle 39 by the key 88. A wear plate is fastened to the bottom side of the hub of the Wheel member 25 by means of three countersunk screws 91 so that the wear plate will rotate with the spindle and wheel member.

The spindle 39 is mounted for rotation within the housing 38 on the ball bearings 96. The outer races of the two upper bearings are held securely to the support cover 98 by the bearing retaining ring 1%0. In order to protect the bearings from outside dust and dirt, the bearing cap 102 is provided with an O-ring 103 for sealing around the spindle. Similar to the upper bearings, the outer race of the lower bearing is secured to the housing 38 by the retaining ring 105. Spaced above the bearing cap 102 is a pressure plate 107 which is supported for axial movement by the three pins 109 which extend upwardly from the bearing plate 102. The three .pins 109 are spring loaded upwardly in order that the pressure plate 107 will bear with uniform pressure against the wear plate 90. The cooperation between the pressure plate and wear plate provides the wheel member 25 with a constant frictional resistance to rotary movement which in turn substantially reduces backlash from forming within the high-speed indexing mechanism.

The mounting rails 111, shown in FIG. 3, are provided to support the entire transferring mechanism and hopper 'afs oa ieb 30 above the conveyor 40, thus allowing the sheet 42 of wrapping paper to pass along the conveyor underneath the feeding mechanism.

The details of the indexing mechanism, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, comprise a double-acting pneumatic cylinder 114 which is mounted on the outside of the housing 38 by "a bracket 115. The piston rod 117, shown in its extended position in FIG. 4, has secured to its outer end a clevis 119 which is pinned to an indexing plate 121 which is mounted for free oscillating movement on the bearing 122. Spaced immediately above the indexing plate 121 is a ratchet wheel 124 which drives the spindle 39 through the key 126. A stop wheel 128 is mounted on the spindle immediately above the ratchet wheel 124 and is held for rotation with the spindle also by the key 126.

Pivotally mounted on the top side of the indexing wheel 121 is a spring-loaded pawl 130 which is adapted to engage the notches 131 formed in the outer periphery of the ratchet wheel 124. Also carried by the indexing plate 121 is a cam plate 133 which oscillates with the indexing plate 121 about the axis of rotation of the spindle 39, as the piston rod 117 withdraws and extends from the pneumatic cylinder 114.

A lever 136 is pivotally mounted to the housing 38 about the pin 133- Attached to one end of the lever is a rolling cam follower 141) which is adapted to engage the outer edge of the cam plate 133. A link 142 is pivotally connected from the other end of the lever 136 to a stop member 144 which is mounted for reciprocating sliding motion within the stationary guide block 146. Another spring-loaded pawl 148 is pivotally mounted to the housing 38 and is adapted to engage each notch 131 of the ratchet wheel 124 as the spindle and ratchet wheel are indexed.

In operation, when the piston rod 117 is extended after it receives a signal from the photoelectric cell 78, the indexing plate 121 is rotated clockwise about its axis which is the centerline of the spindle. The ratchet wheel is carried with the plate 121 by the engagement of the pawl 130 with a notch 131. This, in turn, rotates the wheel member 25 through an arc of sixty degrees. As the cam plate 133 moves with the indexing plate 121, the cam follower 140 is moved outwardly causing the lever 136 to pivot about the pin 138. This action causes the stop member 144 to extend inwardly to provide a stop for the stop wheel 128 after it rotates sixty degrees with the spindle 39 and the ratchet wheel 124.

Simultaneously with the engagement of stop wheel 128 with the stop member 144, the pawl 148 drops into a notch 131 causing the spindle and wheel member to positively lock from rotating in either direction. Thus, when the piston 117 retracts and the indexing plate rotates in a counterclockwise direction, the engagement of the pawl 148 prevents the spindle and wheel member from rotating backwards due to frictional dragging between the ratchet wheel and the indexing plate. As the cam plate 133 rotates counterclockwise, the follower 140 moves down the cam by the action of the tension spring 149. This causes the counterclockwise movement of the lever 136 and the retraction of the stop member 144, thus permitting the stop wheel 128, spindle 39 and wheel member 25 to rotate clockwise again when the piston rod 117 is extended.

The novel construction and operation of the indexing mechanism, as described above, provides the wheel member 25 with accurate and precise indexing in addition to being a quickly responsive mechanism. This accurate indexing of the wheel member 25 is necessary in order to prevent the possibility of binding, rubbing or interference between the piles of books 15 and pins 18.

Referring to FIG. 5, the inside wall 34 of the hopper 30, has aslight draft which assists to guide the books 14 into the hopper and serves to prevent the leading edge 6 of a book from catching the edge of the receiving plate 17 at the top opening of the hopper.

The double pole-double throw switch 152 is mounted on the wall 31 of the hopper below the photoelectric cell 78. The switch is closed by a sensing element 154 which moves outward from the hopper in response to books in the hopper up to at least the level of the sensing element.

Referring to the schematic circuit diagram shown in FIG. 6, the switch 152 has one set of contacts 156 which are in series with the driving motor 158 for the conveyor 41. Thus, if the level of the books 14 within the hopper 30 falls below the level of the sensing or detecting element 154, the switch 152 will open and will stop the conveyor in order to prevent empty sheets of wrapping paper from entering the wrapping machinery on the feed conveyor.

The servo control valve 160 is provided in the air supply line to the pneumatic cylinder 114 in order to control the direction of the air flow within the lines 161 which lead to the cylinder 114 on opposite sides of the piston. The coil 163 of the servo control valve is in series with the switch 80 that is mounted on the stop plate 20. A relay 165 is controlled by the photoelectric cell 78 through a suitable amplifier 166. The relay switch 169 is arranged in series with the other set of contacts 171 within the double pole double throw switch 152 and is also in series with the switch 80 and coil 163.

In operation, when the level of the books within the hopper 30 fall below the light beam provided by the lamp 76, the photoelectric cell 78 picks up the beam and will signal the relay 165 through the amplifier 166 to close the switch 169. This will energize the coil 163 to cause the piston rod 117 to extend, providing a pile of books is resting against the stop plate 20, which is required to close the normally open switch 80. As a pile of books is shoved to the hopper opening by a pin 28 the switch 80 will instantaneously open the circuit and the coil 163 will be deenergized causing the piston rod 117 to retract within the cylinder 114.

The switch 152, as stated above, is primarily provided to stop the conveyor motor 158 when the last book within the hopper reaches the level of the sensing element 154. It is apparent from the diagram, however, that the switch 152 also serves as a check on the switch 80 in case the latter switch stuck in the closed position, in which case the wheel member 25 could possibly index before a pile of books reaches the stop plate 20 and thereby cause the transfer mechanism to jam.

It thus becomes apparent from the above description that the feeding apparatus of the present invention provides an apparatus which receives a high flow of successive piles of books or the like from one conveyor, and distributes the books individually onto another conveyor having a speed substantially greater than the speed of the first conveyor. While the piles of books are shown in FIG. 1 to have the same height, it is apparent that the feeding apparatus will accommodate piles of varying height, however, the apparatus would be required to transfer the piles more frequently as the height of the piles was reduced, in order to maintain the high speed of the conveyor 41.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus adapted to receive successive piles of material prearranged in a continuous supply line and to transfer the piles into a stacked arrangement in a hopper from which the material is distributed as single pieces, said apparatus comprising, barrier means for stopping each pile of material received from the continuous supply line,

guide means directing the piles into engagement with said barrier means and maintaining the material in a substantially vertical pile, a hopper positioned adjacent to and offset from the supply line and adapted to receive successive piles of material in a stacked relation with the piles oriented in the same position as on the supply line, guide means extending from said hopper for retaining the material in a substantially vertical pile, a rotary advancing member, means on said member for engaging and transferring each pile in a direction transverse to the direction of the continuous supply line and into said hopper without rotating the pile, a detector means for signalling when the stacked material in the hopper falls a below a predetermined level, and means for actuating said rotary member in response to a signal from said detector means.

2. An apparatus adapted to receive successive piles of material prearranged in a continuous supply line and to transfer the piles into a stacked arrangement in.a hopper from which the material is distributed as single pieces, said apparatus comprising barrier means for stopping each pile of material received from the continuous supply line, guide means directing the piles into engagement with said barrier means and maintaining the material in a substantially vertical pile, a hopper arranged to receive successive piles of material in a stacked relation, further guide means leading to said hopper from said barrier means for retaining the material in a substantially vertical pile, a rotary advancing member, means on said member for engaging and intermittently transferring each pile from said barrier means into said hopper without rotating the pile, a detector means for signalling when the stacked material in said hopper falls below a predetermined level, and means for advancing said rotary member in only one direction in response to a signal from said detector means.

3. An apparatus adapted to receive successive piles of material prearranged in a supply line and to transfer the piles into a stacked arrangement in a hopper from which the material is distributed as single pieces, said apparatus comprising a receiving plate for supporting the piles of material, barrier means for stopping each pile of material on said receiving plate, guide means directing the piles into engagement with said barrier means and maintaining the material in a substantially vertical pile, a hopper having a receiving level substantially coplanar with the receiving plate and to one side thereof and adapted to receive successive piles of material in a stacked relation with the piles orientated in the same position as on the supply line, a rotary advancing member, means on said member for engaging and transferring each pile in a direction transverse to the direction of the continuous supply line and into said hopper without rotating the pile, a detector arranged to signal when the stacked material in said hopper falls below a predetermined height, and means for advancing said rotary member in response to a signal from said detector means.

4. An apparatus to receive successive piles of material prearranged in a continuous supply line and to transfer the piles into a stacked arrangement in a hopper from the bottom of which the material is distributed as single pieces, :said apparatus comprising barrier means extending across said supply line for stopping each pile of material carried thereon, vertical guide means directing the piles into engagement with said barrier means and maintaining the material in a vertical pile, a hopper located to one side of and below the supply line at said barrier means and adapted to receive successive piles of material in a stacked relation, a rotary wheel member adapted for advancing over the piles and having a plurality of downwardly projecting pins spaced around the periphery of said member for intermittently shoving each pile in a direction transverse to the direction of the continuous supply line and into said hopper, a detector means for signalling when the stacked material in said hopper falls below a predetermined level, and power driven ratchet means operable by said deteetormeans for advancing said rotary member to transfer the piles successively from said barrier means into said hopper.

5. An apparatus to receive successive piles of material prearranged in a continuous supply line and to transfer the piles into a stacked arrangement in a hopper from which the material is distributed as single pieces onto a conveyor, said apparatus comprising barrier means for stopping each pile of material received from the continuous supply line, guide means directing the piles into engagement with said barrier means and maintaining the material in a substantially vertical pile, a hopper spaced in an ofiset relation to the continuous supply line and adapted to receive successive piles of material in a stacked relation with the piles orientated in the same position as on the supply line, a rotary advancing member constructed and arranged for transferring the piles to said hopper on demand without rotating the piles, a detector means operable to signal when the stacked material in said hopper falls below a predetermined level, power operated means for advancing said rotary member in response to a signal from said detector means, and means for removing single pieces of material from the bottom of said hopper without rotating the pieces.

6. In a machine for wrapping single pieces of material, including means for supplying sheets of wrapping paper which receive the single pieces of material and means for folding and sealing the sheets around the pieces of material, an apparatus for feeding the pieces of material onto the cut sheets comprising, guide means for receiving successively prearranged piles of material from a continuous supply line, barrier means for stopping each pile of material received from the continuous supply line, a hopper next to said barrier means and adapted to receive successive piles of material in a stacked relation with the piles orientated in the same position as on the supply line, a rotary advancing member for intermittently shoving each pile stopped by said barrier means into said hopper without rotating the pile, a detector means for signalling when the stacked material in said hopper falls below a predetermined level, power operated means for advancing said rotary member in response to a signal from said detector means, and support means holding the lowermost piece of material at the bottom of said hopper in position for removal from said hopper independently of the other pieces.

7. An apparatus for receiving a flow of successive piles of material from a first conveyor and to feed single pieces of the material onto a second conveyor operating at a speed substantially higher than the first conveyor, said apparatus comprising a receiving plate for supporting the piles, guide means for directing the piles onto said receiving plate, stop means for holding each pile on said receiving plate, sensing means for determining when a .pile is against said stop means, a hopper mounted adjacent to and below said receiving plate and adapted to receive the piles in stacked relationship from said receiving plate, an indexing wheel member spaced above said receiving plate, a plurality of pins depending from said wheel member and adapted to shove one pile at a time into said hopper, bottom means on said hopper adapted to release single pieces of material, detector means constructed to signal when the level of material in said hopper reaches a predetermined minimum, and a control circuit incorporating said detector means in series relationship with said sensing means and operable to control the advancement of said indexing wheel member.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,172,519 9/1939 Reeder 27162 2,325,165 7/1943 Goodwin 221-11 3,027,021 3/1962 Kramer.

M. HENSON WOOD, 111., Primary Examiner.

R. A. SCHACHER, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN APPARATUS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SUCCESSIVE PILES OF MATERIAL PREARRANGED IN A CONTINUOUS SUPPLY LINE AND TO TRANSFER THE PILES INTO A STACKED ARRANGEMENT IN A HOPPER FROM WHICH THE MATERIAL IS DISTRIBUTED AS SINGLE PIECES, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING, BARRIER MEANS FOR STOPPING EACH PILE OF MATERIAL RECEIVED FROM THE CONTINUOUS SUPPLY LINE, GUIDE MEANS DIRECTING THE PILES INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID BARRIER MEANS AND MAINTAINING THE MATERIAL IN A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL PILE, A HOPPER POSITIONED ADJACENT TO AND OFFSET FROM THE SUPPLY LINE AND ADAPTED TO RECEIVE SUCCESSIVE PILES OF MATERIAL IN A STACKED RELATION WITH THE PILES ORIENTED IN THE SAME POSITION AS ON THE SUPPLY LINE, GUIDE MEANS EXTENDING FROM SAID HOPPER FOR RETAINING THE MATERIAL IN A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL PILE, A ROTARY ADVANCING MEMBER, MEANS ON SAID MEMBER FOR ENGAGING AND TRANSFERRING EACH PILE IN A DIRECTION TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF THE CONTINUOUS SUPPLY LINE AND INTO SAID HOPPER WITHOUT ROTATING THE PILE, A DETECTOR MEANS FOR SIGNALLING WHEN THE STACKED MATERIAL IN THE HOPPER FALLS A BELOW A PREDETERMINED LEVEL, AND MEANS FOR ACTUATING SAID ROTARY MEMBER IN RESPONSE TO A SIGNAL FROM SAID DETECTOR MEANS. 